T2 measurements in the human brain at 4.7T using an adiabatic multi-echo sequence - Correlation between T2 and the tissue iron content

Mitsumori F, Watanabe H, Garwood M, Takaya N

Natl. Inst. Environ. Studies

We implemented multiple pairs of adiabatic refocusing pulses in a spin echo sequence to obtain an artifact-free T2 decay in the multi-echo measurements at high field. The new sequence was applied to obtain T2 values in the human brain at 4.7T. T2 values determined in 5 different grey matter regions (ranging from 38 to 64ms) showed strong correlation with published levels of iron in those regions. T2 values also dispersed from 53 to 64ms in white matters. This result suggested that the T2 value in the human brain is predominantly affected by the iron distribution rather than its tissue types.